Blue haired Buddha, Turkmenistan

In Chinese cave temples in Malaysia, I have seen statues of blue haired Buddhas. The main temple to have these Buddhas is Da Seng Ngan at Gunung Rapat, Perak. And my earlier blog mentions a blue haired Buddha in Nam Loong Ngam at Gunung Layang Layang, Perak. 

 At the time there wasn't much on the internet to explain the meaning and now 12 years later there is still very little information. This Wikipedia page gives very little info about blue hair but shows a couple of statues. And this Wikipedia page suggests it is the Buddha of healing and medicine in Mahayana Buddhism. Commonly referred to as the Medicine Buddha, he is described as a doctor who cures suffering using the medicine of his teachings.

When I was in the National Museum in Ashgabat in Turkmenistan, Central Asia, I was surprised to see this blue haired Buddha. It is placed in a hypothetical reconstruction/diorama of the 5th-century Merv Buddhist stupa. The model depicts a large clay and pigment sculpture featuring the characteristic blue-pigmented hair/head details typical of the ancient Merv style. 

See more on the Merv Buddha : "Merv, located in modern-day Turkmenistan, served as a vital western outpost for Buddhism along the Silk Road from the early centuries of the Common Era until the Islamic conquest. Positioned at a major crossroads connecting India, Iran, and China, the oasis city fostered a vibrant, cosmopolitan religious landscape where Buddhism thrived alongside Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Judaism.
 A stupa with a statue of Buddha has been found in Gyaur-kala near Merv. A clay head of a Buddha statue was found in the ruined stupa at Gyaur Kala. "

Ancient Merv is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

This photos is taken from Central Asia News, 23 Feb 2024 and shows the model of the stupa and Buddha, and gives information on the restoration of the Merv Buddha head, with the collaboration of The J. Paul Getty Museum. 

Dogs and horses in the 5 Stans, Central Asia

Whilst travelling through the 5 Stans, I saw some dog species that were new to me. The 5 Stans are Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. 

I noticed in all the towns and cities we visited there were very few dogs to be seen. Maybe because the people are mostly Muslim and maybe the idea of dogs as pets hasn't reached Central Asia.

The first dogs of interest were in Kyrgyzstan near Karakol and belonged to an eagle hunter. That is a man who hunts with eagles, he doesn't hunt for them! We saw a demonstration of how the eagles catch their prey when one man on a horse galloped off dragging a fox skin, then the eagle was released and chased the horse and caught the 'fox'. In the next demo, the second man rode away with the eagle, which was then released as the first man was calling it, and the eagle flew back to its owner. The man was sitting on the horse and as the eagle landed on the man's arm the horse didn't bat an eyelid. Then the men brought their dogs from their vehicle. The dogs are Taipan breed and are similar to Afghans. They were lovely animals, lean and elegant. We watched the dogs chasing the fox skin being dragged by the galloping horse. After we took it in turns to hold the eagle, but didn't have a chance to pet the dogs.

Falconry is inscribed on UNESCO Intangible Heritage list, "Falconry, a living human heritage" and related to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Wikipedia page on Hunting with eagles

At a fuel station at the south end of Issyk-Kul lake, this statue represents the falconer, his horse and dog. And across the road was a large statue of an eagle. 

The next dog I saw was also a Taipan. We were at the 7 Bulls viewpoint at Jeti-Oguz gorge, near Karakol. The dog was loitering outside the cafe, presumably hoping for titbits and was happy to be petted.

After this I didn't really see horses or dogs until we got to Turkmenistan. We spent a night in yurts at the Darvaza gas crater and a very large dog lived there. It looked like it had no ears. I don't have any photos of the dog. But the next day when we stopped at a petrol station in the Karakum desert, there was another dog of the same breed. This was a friendly old boy, with very stiff back legs. Poor thing could hardly walk. A Google search told me is is an Alabai, a Central Asian shepherd dog. 

From Wikipedia , "The Central Asian Shepherd Dog, also known as the Alabay, Alabai, Tobet, and Turkmen Wolfhound, is a livestock guardian dog breed. Traditionally, the breed was used for guarding sheep and goat herds, as well as to protect and for guard duty." It also says the ears are cropped and the tails usually docked. Wikipedia has a lot of info on the Alabai. 

In Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan horse meat is widely eaten and horse meat is exported to neighbouring countries. We saw lots of horses in fields. But horses are also used as transport, often I saw a man sitting on a horse whilst watching his flocks of cows or sheep and goats, and in the evenings he'd ride round on the horse rounding up the animals. 

Horse meat in the Green Bazaar in Almaty, Kazakhstan -

Chuchuk, a traditional Kyrgyz horse meat sausage, in Kyrgyzstan -

In Kazakhstan I tried fermented camel's milk and also mare's milk. It was very sour.

As mentioned above, horse meat is commonly eaten in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan and a lot is exported, though we weren't served it. It is never eaten in Turkmenistan. And Turkmenistan reveres one particular horse breed. This is the Ahal Teke. As soon as we arrived at the capital Ashgabat, we went straight to Owadan Altynay stables -

And the heading of this notice board says it all - 

They are known as heavenly horses in Chinese records, prized for their speed, agility, endurance and elegance. 

The Ahal Teke are not allowed to be exported, they can only be given away as a gift by the president. And in 1956 a palomino was given to Queen Elizabeth II.

We had lunch - beef, chicken and lamb - before going to see the horses. As mentioned above horses are not eaten in Turkmenistan, and in 1935 a white stallion and 30 other horses were walked to Moscow to communicate the horses shouldn't be slaughtered for meat. 

The horses are really beautiful. Amazing coats, gorgeous colours with a metallic sheen.

See the Wikipedia page on the Akhal-Teke .

Food markets in the 5 Stans, Central Asia

 Whilst on a 3 week tour of the 5 Stans in Central Asia, we did a lot of eating. We also visited several bazaars, and I was particularly interested in the food sections.

The 5 Stans are Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. 

The first country we visited was Kyrgyzstan. These photos are from Osh Bazaar in Bishkek. It is one of the largest bazaars in Bishkek and located on the western side of the city. It covers a huge area and is full of stalls, many selling the same produce. I wondered how shoppers choose which stall to buy from.

In this photo, notice the QR code in front of the trader. These unified ELQR codes to accept cashless payments through mobile banking and digital wallet apps. Backed by the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic, a single QR code works across different banks and e-wallets, so you do not need a specific app to match the vendor's bank.

I went over to the meat section which was in a separate enclosed area. It seemed very clean -

Back outside, this stall caught my eye. I later found it is Chuchuk, a traditional Kyrgyz horse meat sausage

These heads were in a plastic box -

Next is Kazakhstan. As we drove through the small village of Baiseit in the Almaty region, our guide told us the market stalls are typical to here, as the produce is local -       

The next market was in Almaty, Kazakhstan, known as the Green Bazaar. These photos are from the food section -

The meat section was divided into rows with the animal shown on a green sign. This is horse meat. Horse meat is very common in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, and we saw lots of horses in the fields. 

Tinned horse meat. Kazy is a traditional Central Asian sausage made from seasoned horse meat and fat, typically prepared with garlic and spices.

horses in Kyrgyzstan

cheese products

I bought some chocolate from the supermarket

Moving onto Tajikistan, this is Mehrron Bazaar in Dushanbe. Named after the ancient Persian autumn harvest festival of Mehrgon, it opened in 2014 as a modern, climate-controlled replacement for older local markets. From the outside it looks like a modern shopping centre so I got quite a surprise when I went in - 

It sells produce from Tajikistan's fertile orchards and farms, such as fresh and dried fruits, honey, famous Tajik spices, halva etc.

I was surprised to see this stall, selling freshly chopped carrots and yellow carrots, for use in plov, the national dish of Tajikistan -

The first floor had a lot of items for phones etc, as well as textiles and the upper floor was textiles and a small eating area etc. 

Driving through Tajikistan, these dolana fruit were for sale at roadside stalls

At the same place was this butcher

Another roadside stall in Tajikistan, selling dried apricots and dried balls of yoghurt. I'd tried them in Kazakhstan and they were very hard and very sour  -

An interesting way to keep the drinks cool, by cascading water down over the shelves -

In Samarkand, Uzbekistan, the Siyob Bazaar is the largest and oldest traditional market, located right next to the historic Bibi-Khanym Mosque.

tea with added fruits etc

Many varieties of melons are grown in Tajikistan -

A shop selling non or nonlari at Samarkand railway station. Non is a famous type of thick, ornate, and dense Central Asian flatbread.  

And another shop selling a lot of chocolate bars common in the UK. In fact these were available almost everywhere.

In Bukhara , Uzbekistan, the Central Bazaar -

maybe beef kidney fat

Bibo Bio Qurt is a popular traditional Central Asian snack made from dried, salted yogurt or fermented milk, stamped with playful emoji faces.

More pomegranate juice -

And onto Turkmenistan . Melons roadside stop Ashgabat-Daşoguz trunk road -

The Gulistan (Russian) Bazaar, Ashgabat -

Although we saw so many stalls in all the countries stalls laden with spices, the food we had was never very spicy and certainly not hot in the chilli sense. Maybe it was served this way for tourists.

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See my blog on Food in the 5 Stans .